Tobacco sellers' rules being updated

Tobacco stores such as this one seen in a shopping center on Oro Dam Boulevard and Lincoln Street on Friday in Oroville will be subject to new regulations the city has drafted for selling tobacco and tobacco-related products.
(Mary Weston/Staff Photo)

OROVILLE — The city is updating the rules for selling and distributing tobacco and other nicotine-related substances and products, as well as for establishing tobacco stores.

The proposed changes and additions to the Municipal Code apply only to tobacco shops, hookah shops and lounges, head shops and similar stores, and not to grocery and department stores that sell cigarettes and tobacco.

The Planning Commission reviewed the updated code and recommended it to the City Council for approval, said Don Rust, director of planning and development services.

"It's working its way through the process," Rust said.

The new code would require tobacco shops to have a tobacco retailer's license and limit the number of stores to one for every 4,000 residents.

The state Legislature has recognized the danger of tobacco use and has made reducing youth access to tobacco products a priority, according to the city report.

The updated code will allow the city to regulate operations of lawful businesses to discourage violations of federal state and local tobacco-related laws.

This would include illegal sales of tobacco products to minors. Tobacco products and paraphernalia that are physically accessible to the public would be prohibited.